Material reductionist façade shows cracks
See Chemist Shows How RNA Can Be the Starting Point for Life.
The article reports that an English chemist, John D. Sutherland, has found a way to cause nucleotides (the building blocks of RNA, i.e. the building blocks of life) to form naturally, as they would have done on the primitive Earth - thwarting a problem has long tripped up scientists looking at the origins of life.
This was a 10-year effort and involved working methodically through every possible combination of starting chemicals - and it is reported that the winning combination was particularly counter-intuitive.
Dr Sutherland said:
Oh my! Dr Sutherland! You shouldn't have! Are you saying there is some kind of creative principle at work in these mere ... chemicals?
The article reports that an English chemist, John D. Sutherland, has found a way to cause nucleotides (the building blocks of RNA, i.e. the building blocks of life) to form naturally, as they would have done on the primitive Earth - thwarting a problem has long tripped up scientists looking at the origins of life.
This was a 10-year effort and involved working methodically through every possible combination of starting chemicals - and it is reported that the winning combination was particularly counter-intuitive.
Dr Sutherland said:
"My assumption is that we are here on this planet as a fundamental consequence of organic chemistry. So it must be chemistry that wants to work." [italics added]
Oh my! Dr Sutherland! You shouldn't have! Are you saying there is some kind of creative principle at work in these mere ... chemicals?
"What separates me from most so-called atheists is a feeling of utter humility toward the unattainable secrets of the harmony of the cosmos."
- Albert Einstein to Joseph Lewis, Apr. 18, 1953
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